NEWS IN DETAIL

Greece insists on 'step-by-step' approach with Turkey

The policy of a "step-by-step" rapprochement with Turkey is Greece's answer
for a normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations, government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas said yesterday in reply to criticism by main opposition New
Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis .

The ND leader made statements on foreign policy following a meeting with
President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos.

"Turkey is called upon to harmonise itself with the international legal
order and accept the appropriate rules of behaviour. It is called upon to
recognise the jurisdiction of the International Court at The Hague, as
envisaged by the political framework of the Luxembourg summit," he
added.

Earlier, Mr. Karamanlis accused the government of having no strategy and of
"attempting to secretly alter its policy, as it appears to have decided to
refer all issues - which Turkey unilaterally and arbitrarily has raised in
an attempt to change the status quo in the Aegean - to the International
Court at The Hague".

Kinkel: Ankara should refer its differences to The Hague

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel yesterday expressed support for a
proposal by his Greek counterpart Theodoros Pangalos' calling for Turkey to
refer all issues it considers as problems or differences with Athens to the
International Court at The Hague, accepting the Court's obligatory
jurisdiction.

Mr. Pangalos's statements were published in an interview with the Turkish
daily "Milliyet".

"There must be progress in the relations between Greece and Turkey and an
attainable way in this direction is the invitation addressed by Greek
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos to the Turkish government to seek
recourse at the International Court at the Hague," he said, after a joint
press conference with his visiting Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem.

He added that he had emphasised this position to Mr. Cem, together with "an
appeal to the Turkish government to re-think it".

The issue of The Hague was side-stepped by Mr. Cem, with the familiar
position of "first bilateral dialogue and then we see".

Mr. Kinkel further said that "the European Union is not responsible for the
problems which Turkey has created, such as the occupation of northern
Cyprus in violation of international law, and the problem with the
Kurds".

In his introduction, Mr. Kinkel said the EU decision to open membership
negotiations with Cyprus was a given, and that he had asked Mr. Pangalos to
contribute to the representation of the Turkish Cypriot side in the Cypriot
delegation in negotiations.

Pangalos: Ankara must adapt itself to new era

Turkey must realise that "we have entered a new era", in which it must
adapt to by recognising the jurisdiction of the International Court at The
Hague, Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos told reporters in Brussels
yesterday, shortly before returning to Athens.

Mr. Pangalos stressed that Turkey would at some point have to fall in line
with the new international situation and recognise the competent international
bodies.

He was returning to Athens after attending a European Union General Affairs
Council in the Belgian capital on Monday.

Commenting on statements by Turkish Foreign Ministry official Necati Utkan,
who said Ankara would not be willing to take recourse to the International
Court at The Hague over the issue of its disputing the extent of Greek
airspace, Mr. Pangalos said the issue was not what each Turkish official
said on one or the other matter with regard to The Hague, "but Turkey's
adjustment to international law".

Mr. Pangalos noted that Turkey had for a number of years disputed that
Greece's national airspace was 10 nautical miles "even though for four
decades, from 1931 to 1973, Ankara accepted this limit without protest".

By continuing to dispute the extent of Greek airspace, Mr. Pangalos said,
Turkey was merely exacerbating a problem which it itself had created.

Greece signs defence cooperation accord with Slovakia

National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos and his Slovakian counterpart
J. Siltek signed a defence cooperation agreement, the first between the two
countries.

The two ministers discussed armament and defence industry issues within the
framework of the cooperation agreement.

According to press reports, Greek officials are interested in the 155mm
"SUZANA" mobile artillery system, which has an effective firing range of 37
kilometres.

Mr. Siltek thanked Mr. Tsohatzopoulos for Greece's support in Slovakia's
effort to enter the European Union, as well as Greece's stance during the
Albanian crisis.

Before leaving the Czech Republic, the Greek defence minister was received
by President Vaclav Havel, whom he reassured of Greece's firm political
backing for his republic's accession to NATO and in negotiations with the
EU.

He pointed out that 1998 will be a crucial year for Greek-Czech relations,
announcing at the same time that Prime Minister Costas Simitis, as well as
Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis will visit the Czech Republic,
probably within the year.

Other meetings Mr. Tsohatzopoulos had included with Czech PM Tosovski and
the leader of the senate, Mr. Pitnar.

Ms Mitterrand calls for action on illegal immigrants

Danielle Mitterrand, currently visiting Greece in her capacity as president
of the "France Libertes" Foundation, yesterday called for a European policy
on immigrants that would work towards their eventual return to their
homelands.

Ms Mitterrand is the widow of the late French president Francois Mitterrand.

"The question is not whether western states want to or are able to have
these people (in Europe), but to give them the opportunity to return to
their homes without any problems," she said in a press conference.

"France Libertes" has been involved in the problems of the Kurdish people,
which Ms Mitterrand said were chiefly due to economic factors.

"For 15 years we have been condemning the genocide being perpetrated
against the Kurdish people, which we believe is due to economic factors
since the land in their area is rich in water resources and therefore has
attracted the attention of powerful in terest groups. Our mission today is
to attack the true cause of this catastrophe, to protect the people and to
offer them our solidarity, letting them know they are not alone," she
said.

Ms Mitterrand also attributed the increasing problem of racism to economic
factors.

"We must counter the world dictatorship of money with the world democracy
of peoples. Measures taken by European states to limit unemployment should
not be turned against immigrants, since it is policies such as these that
result in racism. Unemployment originates in a policy that seeks a cheap
work force. There should be a united front of workers, including foreign
workers, against such a stance," she said.

Ms Mitterrand also met with President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
and she also had a brief meeting with Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

Europarliament head due in Athens tomorrow

European Parliament President Jose Maria Hill Robles begins a three-day
official visit to Greece tomorrow at the invitation of Parliament President
Apostolos Kaklamanis.

Mr. Robles will hold talks with the country's leadership as well as with
party leaders. His agenda of talks includes Greek-Turkish relations,
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), relations between the European Union and
Turkey and relations between the Parliaments of member-states and the
European Parliament.

1998 declared 'Quality Year' by V. Papandreou

The development ministry has declared 1998 as a 'Quality Year', which will
include a series of actions aimed at increasing awareness among the public
and organisations.

The action programme in all sectors of the ministry's responsibility
(industry, energy, commerce, tourism) were presented yesterday by
Development Minister Vasso Papandreou during a press conference.

"Quality is the main strategy in the government's development policy", said
Ms Papandreou, who described quality as "a decisive parametre for the
country's economic development..."

She further said that the ministry was already working on the appropriate
infrastructure required for drawing up a comprehensive policy on quality.

The minister said emphasis would be laid on the introduction of quality
checks in the market to protect consumers from low-quality products.

Greek stocks hit by rising interest rates

Greek equities remained under pressure for the second consecutive session
yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange to lose further substantial
ground.

A rise in interest rates at Monday's auction of state bills was interpreted
as a sign of a rising trend in money market rates.

Bank of Greece sources reported new capital outflows totalling 150 million
US dollars at the drachma's fixing, while the Greek currency's parity eased
by 0.66 percent against the dollar. The drachma was stable against the
DMark and the Ecu.

More than 100 companies, mainly multinational subsidiaries, have adopted
the EDI system, while another 250 were expected to follow soon.

Greece's cable industry outlook positive, report says

Greece's cable industry outlook is positive, but the sector may face
increased competition in the domestic market due to the liberalisation of
public utilities procurement contracts in the European Union, the Institute
of Financial and Industrial Research (IOBE) said yesterday in a report.

Greek cable manufacturers depend largely on orders by Public Power
Corporation and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation.

The report urges cable manufacturers to seek expansion in eastern Europe
ahead of an expected massive investment in the telecommunications and
energy sectors in the region.

Currently, almost 40 percent of Greek cable manufacturers production is
exported and the industry showed a surplus of 75 million Ecu in 1995.

Italy is Greece's main supplier in cables. On the other hand, Britain and
France are the main exporting markets.

Agrotica '98 trade fair opens in Thessaloniki today

Agriculture Minister Stephanos Tzoumakas today inaugurates the 14th
Agrotica international trade fair in Thessaloniki, rated as the biggest
agricultural trade fair in the Balkans and this year is expected to show
increased numbers both in exhibitors as in visitors.

According to HELEXPO figures, 1,517 Greek and foreign exhibitors will take
part in the fair, covering 38,500 square metres, up from 1,500 and 36,807
respectively last year.

The total profits of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) are
expected to amount to 368 billion drachmas in the 1998 fiscal year,
increasing by 64 billion drachmas or 21 per cent compared to the 1997
fiscal year.

According to OTE's budget, total revenues will increase from 979 billion
drachmas, while expenditures for 1998, in the investments sector, will
amount to 320 billion drachmas and will show an increase of 73 billion
drachmas or 32.2 per cent as against pre dicted investments in 1997.

Upon completion of the anticipated construction programme in 1998, targets
will be achieved such as the installation of 1.2 million lines, 160,000 new
telephone lines and the construction of 2,500km of ditches for underground
urban and long distance net works.

Over the same period, an increase is also expected in digital lines by 72
per cent as against 49 per cent anticipated for 1997.

OTE is expected to present considerable fund surpluses in 1998 which, after
the payment of its fund obligations, will amount to 113.8 billion
drachmas.

Greek tourism promotional tour in Canada

The Greek National Tourism Organisation's (EOT) Canadian bureau will
organised a 23-city "Showcase Greece" exhibition tour starting February
10.

Commenting on the effort, EOT General Secretary Nikos Skoulas said that
"Canada is sending us optimistic messages. We are regaining lost ground in
the North American markets, beginning in Canada".

The exhibitions will promote all aspects of Greek tourism, while tour
operators will take part with their own exhibition and workshops.

Some 3,500 Canadian tourist agents are expected participate.

Papastratos sells its share of Makro

The cigarette-maker Papastratos yesterday announced that it sold its shares
of the Makro Cash and Carry outlets, some 10 per cent of the company's
total, for 5.5 billion drachmas.

Over the nine-month period from January to September 1997, 1.51 billion
drachmas were spent on fixed asset investments. Revenues amounted to 49.75
billion drachmas over the same period, up from 40.40 billion drachmas over
the corresponding period in 199 6, while net sales increased by about 2.5
per cent. Pre-tax results totalled 8.25 billion drachmas, from 7.17 billion
drachmas.

WEATHER

Cloudiness and light snowfall in most parts of Greece today. Winds variable,
moderate to gale force. Athens will be cloudy with mild rain and temperatures
between 3-7C. Cloudy with slight snowfall in Thessaloniki with temperatures
from 1-4C.